Oregon State dominates on the boards in defeating Washington State

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Stephen Thompson Jr. scored 22 points, with four 3-pointers, six rebounds and seven assists, as Oregon State defeated Washington State 90-77 on Thursday night.

Tres Tinkle had 21 points and four steals and Ethan Thompson added 20 points and six assists for the Beavers (12-6, 4-2 Pac-12).

CJ Elleby scored 21 points, all in the second half, and Robert Franks Jr. had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars (8-11, 1-5).

Oregon State shot 52 percent and 10 for 27 on 3-pointers. Washington State shot 50 percent and 12 for 28 from long range.

The Beavers outrebounded the Cougars 39-24 and grabbed 15 offensive boards.

The Beavers took a 49-33 lead after a 9-0 run, capped by a Stephen Thompson Jr. lay-in with 1 minute, 32 seconds left in the first half.

Oregon State led 52-36 at the break.

Elleby got hot and helped whittle the deficit early in the second half. A 7-0 Cougars surge, with Jervae Robinson scoring five points, trimmed the margin to 67-58 with 12:35 remaining.

But Washington State never came closer to OSU.

Kylor Kelley finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for Oregon State.

Big picture

Washington State: Franks fouled out with 2:02 left on a charge. … The Cougars have won one game in the past month, an 82-59 victory over California on Jan. 17.

Oregon State: Kelley needs four blocks to break the program record of 73 in a season, set by Eric Moreland in 2012-13. The junior college transfer leads the nation with 3.94 blocks per game.